


The Demons Within

by RuMaDoo



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Post-Time Skip, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Romance, Will update tags as things come along, dimileth, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuMaDoo/pseuds/RuMaDoo
Summary: Dimitri had always been driven by the ghosts of the dead. Everything he did was to appease them, to stop their insatiable cries for blood. When he was with Byleth, he felt safe. He didn’t hear their voices. Her radiance had drowned it out. When he found out she was missing he turned into a beast, indiscriminately taking lives and spilling the blood the voices craved.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Dimitri had always been driven by the ghosts of the dead. Everything he did was to appease them, to stop their insatiable cries for blood. When he was with Byleth, he felt safe. He didn’t hear their voices. Her radiance had drowned it out. When he found out she was missing he turned into a beast, indiscriminately taking lives and spilling the blood the voices craved. The one person he trusted fully, his light in the darkness, the flame that warmed him, was dead and gone. He began to fight like every fight would be his last. He had a total disregard for life, wether it be his troops or his own. It made him a liability, a wildcard. Everyone wanted their old Dimitri back, everyone tried there best but they all knew, only Byleth could bring him back.

“You... how long do you intend to sleep?” A familiar voice called out. Byleth groaned slightly. “Your body is awake. Your eyes must now open, you must find the strength to stand upon those legs of yours. Like so much rain, a pool of blood has fallen to the ground... as spears and arrows pierce the earth... it weeps. Even now, it weeps. In order to survive, they kill. And so, the people of this world are lost in an abyss of suffering. They weep as well...” The childlike voice spoke. Byleth’s head was swimming with darkness, trying to figure out what was going on.  
“The only one who knows the nature of such things is I... or rather... you.”  
Who?  
“Ugh!” The voice groaned angrily. “You are a complete and utter fool! Have you not changed one bit?! Get on your feet! Right now! I shall coddle you no more! You are just like a child, always needing me to hold your hand!”  
A blinding white light burnt Byleth’s eyes as they opened. In front of her stood a man she had never met before. She looked around as she shivered. Why was she so cold? She looked down. She was in a river? Strange. She gripped her aching head. 

“Ouch...” she groaned.  
“Hey! A-are you ok?” The man asked frantically.  
“Where am I?” Byleth asked, still groggy from her sleeping state.  
“We’re in a village at the base of the monastery. What are you doing in a place like this?” The man offered her a hand, which she used to hoist herself up.  
“I honestly didn’t expect to find someone floating away down the river... Garreg Mach is upstream from here but the place was abandoned...”  
“A-abandoned?!” Byleth’s face dropped. No... that couldn’t be right...  
“Huh? You didn’t know? The church of Seiros isn’t there anymore. Though there have been some folks living there in the five years since... well, you know... anyway... I’ve heard some thieves have been spotted around those parts these days...”  
“What year is it?” Byleth blurted anxiously.  
“Ummm are you feeling alright? You didn’t hit your head did you?” The man sighed. “Well it’s the ethereal moon of the year 1185 it’s been nearly five years since the monastery fell. Tomorrow was meant to be the Millennium Festival, but who’s got time to think about things like that?” The man sighed.  
“The Millennium Festival...” Byleth murmured absentmindedly.  
“Uh yeah, that’s what I said. But with the war and the archbishop still missing and all... I doubt there’s a soul to be found that has enough blessings to be counted.”

The memories of her students, her mighty blue lions, flooded her mind. They had all promised to return on the day of the festival. Without another thought she turned and started to head towards the monastery. The villager gave chase.  
“H-hey! Slow down would you! Where do you think you’re going?”  
“The monastery.” She said, her pace unfaltering.  
“Are you crazy!?” The man exclaimed. “I told ya! There are thieves running amok up there! There’s plenty of other dangers too! I heard a rumour that imperial troops went up there to investigate and got slaughtered! Every last one!”  
Byleth shrugged.  
“Come on, I promise I won’t say you’re a coward. Just forget about going anywhere near the monastery...”  
Byleth shook her head.  
“My students are waiting for me.” She said, before picking up her pace and leaving the man behind. 

The stairs to the goddess tower was littered with bodies of imperial soldiers. Some blood was fresh, some was caked onto the steps like it had been there for years. There was strong stench of death defiling the once holy place. Byleth grimaced as she felt bones crack under her feet. She took the sword of the creator in her hand, ready to attack if necessary. 

She moved around the steps, to where there was a hole in the wall that housed the hunched figure of a beast. Her sword clattered to the floor as she gasped, realising that the figure was very much human. The figure lifted its head, revealing a mass of messy blonde hair.  
“D-Dimitri...?” Byleth gasped.  
She moved closer. He had blood splattered all over him. The realisation that he was the reason for the corpses over the floor hit her. She stopped right in front of him, offering him her hand.  
“I should’ve known... that one day you would be haunting me as well...” he croaked, dipping his head. Byleth’s heart broke at the sound of him. This wasn’t her Dimitri, her Dimitri was so bright and noble, full of life and hope. This Dimitri was shrouded by darkness.  
“You. What must I do to be rid of you? I will kill that woman, I swear it! Do not look at me with scorn in your eyes!” He pleaded.  
“Everything will be alright.” She soothed, reaching out and touching his bloodied face. He gasped, knowing in that moment she was real. 

“It can’t be... you’re alive?” He exclaimed, his one eye wide in shock. She frowned, noticing his eyepatch. She reached for the black fabric covering but he smacked her hand away.  
“If that is the case, that can only mean you’re another imperial spy. Did you come here to kill me? Then I will have to kill you first.” He said reluctantly. Byleth opened her mouth to speak, but the words were knocked out of her before she could form them. She stumbled back, the blow to her stomach, sending her reeling. She fell by her sword, and saw that he had retrieved his own weapon. She frowned. She didn’t want to hurt him, but if he was so hell bent on fighting her, she had to defend herself. She grabbed the relic, taking a defensive stance as he hurtled towards her once more. Their weapons clashed together at such force that sparks flew across the room. Dimitri snarled like a wild beast, then all of a sudden, he changed tactics, and with a sweep of his long leg, he took her own legs from beneath her, making her fall to the ground with a grunt. She rolled out of the way before his weapon could meet her. She adjusted her grip on the sword and ran to the other side of the tower. She adopted the same defensive stance, trying to tell him she didn’t want to fight him. 

If Byleth was fighting the Dimitri from five years ago, she would’ve been able to defeat him without much of a struggle. She knew his patterns, but she had no clue with this Dimitri. He was unpredictable, driven purely by instincts, and after five years of sleeping, Byleth didn’t fully believe in her own abilities.  
Dimitri was relentless, throwing all he had at her and not giving her a moment to gather a strategy. Dimitri once again charged at her, his lance reaching out ahead of him. Byleth engaged the lance with her sword, and put everything into prying it from his grasp while keeping a safe distance. The sword extended, wrapping itself around the lance and tearing it from his grip. She quickly untangled the sword and threw the lance behind her, out of his reach. This didn’t discourage Dimitri, as he continued to charge for her. He threw a punch at her that she dodged. He was getting sloppy. It was clear he was exhausted.  
“Dimitri please!” She pleaded.  
“Silence witch!” He snarled back.  
Byleth knew she would have to knock some sense into him. She resigned and decided her vest strategy was to take him down. She threw her sword by his lance, she didn’t want to badly injure him. A flash of confusion flirted over her opponents face, but he quickly regained composure and flew at her once more. Byleth exhaled lightly, readying herself does his attack. He went to punch her, but she caught his fist, luckily activating her crest and giving herself a boost. She twisted his arm, bringing him to his knees, where she then kicked him to make him lie flat against the stone floor. She quickly drew the dagger from her belt and straddled him, pressing the blade to his throat.  
“Well! You won, go on, kill me.” He snarled.  
Byleth withdrew her knife from his neck. She frowned in realisation that she had cut him. She immediately placed her hands over the wound and poured some faith magic into it, healing him.  
“If you had listened before, I’m no here to kill you.” She snapped. Dimitri’s brow furrowed as she climbed off of him, and went to retrieve their discarded weapons. She handed him his lance back.  
“So I’d appreciate if you’d stop trying to kill me.”  
Dimitri grunted and got up, barging past her to go downstairs.  
“I’m glad you’re safe...” her voice softened, causing him to stop in his tracks for a moment. He then replied with a grunt once more and left the tower. 

Byleth followed him silently, all the way to the cathedral. Byleth gasped at the wreckage. It was once a beautiful place, full of life, but now, with the overwhelming amount of rubble, it was hard to imagine it as the place she and her students had once loved so dearly.  
Dimitri stopped at the rubble covering the back wall, his back to Byleth.  
“What have you been doing for the past five years?” Byleth asked gingerly. It took Dimitri a moment to answer.  
“I have been dead, more or less.”  
Byleth blinked. “Why do you say that?”  
“What do you hope to gain, asking me that? There are more important matters at hand.” His voice was a low growl. It shook Byleth to the core.  
“Do you not smell them? Filthy rats, everywhere. And traces of those who were here long ago. And thieves crawling from the woodwork, attracted by the promise of treasure.” His voice grew manic. “Heh.” He laughed bitterly. “Since the monastery fell, order in the area fell right along with it. You must’ve seen the state of the town near Garreg Mach on your way here? Vile thieves run rampant. They pillage and loot to their hearts content. I must kill them. Every last one. It’s time to hunt down their nest.”  
“What do you plan to do?”  
“I told you. I will kill them all.”  
“B-but even the thieves are just trying to survive!” Byleth protested. “We don’t have to kill them to stop them!”  
“They must die. Someone must put a stop to this cycle of the strong trampling the weak. Or do you condone their actions?” He almost snarled. “Do you believe that the pillaging and slaughtering those rats love for is justified?! It is reprehensible and they must be put down!” He spat. “I intend to give them a taste of the pain they inflicted on others. Even if it means becoming a rat myself. I swore to myself to at least do that much... I won’t let them down...”  
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Byleth spoke up.  
“How many thieves are there?”  
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is killing those who deserve to die.” He said before marching away. Byleth watched him for a moment, feeling helpless.  
“Dimitri... what happened to you when I was gone?” She mumbled to herself, feeling a weight in her chest. She soldiered forward, following the empty shell she once called Dimitri.


	2. Chapter 2

After a tiring battle with the thieves Byleth was reunited with her students. Mercedes and Annette practically jumped on her the moment the battle ended, affectionately hugging her. Sylvain was next, embracing her in what appeared to be an innocent hug at first, but when it drew out longer and Felix practically yanked him off of her, Byleth began to suspect he had other intentions. It was nice to see that he hadn’t changed much. She chuckled lightly. Dimitri was the only one who wasn’t chatting to Byleth on the way back to the monastery. He trudged ahead, blatantly ignoring everyone, although Gilbert didn’t seem to get the memo and stuck by the prince’s side.   
There was one person missing. Dedue. Byleth couldn’t believe for a minute he’s willingly be apart from Dimitri.

“Sylvain?” She asked.  
“Yeah what’s up professor?”  
“Where’s Dedue?” She questioned.  
“Ah yeah... I suppose you wouldn’t know... it’s rumoured he died for Dimitri...” Byleth gasped in horror.   
“No...” she whispered.   
She knew Dedue was loyal to the prince and that he would give his life away to him without question, but hearing that one of her students had died was a shock to the system. No... Dedue was more than her student. He was her friend. A friend who she’d had the pleasure of fighting alongside many times. Her eyes began to wet as she remembered the times they shared in the greenhouse together. In that moment she took a silent vow that she would fix up the greenhouse and tend to the flowers and plants with the same loving care Dedue had once given them. 

By the time they returned to Garreg Mach, the moon was high in the sky, illuminating the crumbling stone of the monastery walls with beautiful white light.   
“Hey professor!” Ingrid called as she jogged towards Byleth. “We’re going to the dining hall for some tea! Would you care to join us?”  
Byleth just shook her head.   
“No. Thank you though... I’m going to head to bed, I’m exhausted.” She lied.   
“Of course. Rest well professor.” Ingrid smiled at her gently, then took off with her old classmates.

Byleth walked straight to the fishing pond, instead of to her quarters. She sat on the edge of the pier and carefully removed her boots. She dipped her feet into the cold water, grimacing slightly at the temperature. Once she had adjusted to the cooler climate, she lay back onto the dock, letting her feet dangle into the pond. She lightly smiled at the sensation of the odd fish brushing past her skin. She looked up at the moon once more. She could tell why it was called the month of the Ethereal Moon.  
The light that the celestial body emitted was bright and pure white, making everything it reached look angelic. She lifted her body up, looking back at the dark pool around her. She could see the moon reflected perfectly in the unmoving waters. She caught a glimpse of her own reflection. She could barely recognise herself her mint green hair was glowing in the pale moonlight, making it seem as if she had a halo. She smiled at the goddess she saw in her reflection, knowing that although she could no longer speak to the deity, she was a part of her still. She knew she would never truly be alone, she could feel her strong connection to Sothis, and knew that she would return one day. Not only did she have the goddess on her side, she had her students back. Now all she had to do was to find a way to bring Dimitri back into the light. She felt a sense of newfound determination brewing in her. She smiled to herself.   
“Well it cant be that hard, can it?”   
Byleth realised that she was still filthy, and by now all of the students would’ve cleaned up and be drinking together, so she decided she would see if the private bathhouse for the faculty members was still standing. 

She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was relatively unscathed, although it was locked. A locked door never stopped a mercenary before, though. She picked the lock with ease. She was aware that there would probably be no hot water, but it wouldn’t have have been the first time she had to take a cold bath, she was just grateful that there was shelter and privacy for her instead of bathing in a lake. She shut the door behind her and undressed while the bath filled. When she climbed in it was surprisingly warm. She sighed happily as she relaxed in the water, feeling the tension from the hard battle melt away. Once she was clean, she stayed in the water for a while, watching her fingers prune up. Eventually she decided to get out, donning her newly cleaned clothes. She felt relaxed and warmed inside and out from her bath. 

She headed to her old room. To her surprise there wasn’t much dust on the bed. It seemed like it had been slept in recently. The rest of the room was a different story. She decided that she would give everything a thorough clean when she woke up in the morning. She was feeling quite sleepy from the bath, so she began to strip off, climbing into her bed and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She woke up just as the sun was breaking through the clouds. It was early, but she felt well rested. She dressed herself, and then strolled to the dining hall, brewing herself a pot of tea. She took the pot back to her room along with a cup. She pulled the chair from her desk and put it just outside her room, drinking a sip of her tea and watching the sky as the sun slowly came up. Once she had finished her drink, she got to cleaning, pulling a broom from her closet. She hummed lightly to herself as she swept away the dust and dirt. She then started to dust the cobwebs away, cleaning everything thoroughly, a voice broke her from her concentration.   
“Come with me.” It demanded gruffly. She jumped and turned around to see Dimitri’s large frame in her door way. She frowned slightly as he left before saying anything else. Byleth brought everything back into her room as Dimitri trudged ahead with Byleth following silently. He led her to the entrance hall where the rest of the lions were waiting, along with some new additions. 

A certain green haired girl launched herself at Byleth.   
“Professor! I’m so glad you’re unharmed!” She said, tightly hugging the taller woman.  
“Flayn! Please don’t jump on her like that!” Seteth scolded. He smiled gently as Flayn released the professor from her vice like grip.  
“Nice to see you’re ok, Byleth!” Catherine beamed.   
“Professor...” Shamir nodded curtly.   
Her eyes widened as her eyes fell on Cyril. He had grown so much.   
“Hi professor!” He beamed happily.  
Manuela smiled at her.  
Alois was the next to greet her. “I knew you wouldn’t die on me! No kid of Jeralt’s would go down that easily!” He laughed, squishing her into another hug.   
“Ok, now let the professor breathe.” Seteth sighed irritably. He approached Byleth with a warm look in his eyes.   
“I never gave up looking for you and Rhea. I’m glad you’ve returned to us. It just shows Rhea is just a stones throw away.” He gently wrapped his arms around her into a friendly hug.   
“It’s good to see you too, Seteth.”  
“You must come to my office later, we have much to discuss.”   
“Of course.” She nodded and smiled at him once more.   
“You must let me investigate how your crest kept you asleep for a while five years!” Hanneman exclaimed  
“Settle down. Now we have the professor back, we must discuss what our next move is.” Seteth said.

After a long impromptu strategy meeting, Byleth returned to her room, replaying the events in her head. Dimitri wanted to be reckless and charge for the capital with no strategy, but luckily everyone was against him and they decided. The church set up arrangements for the monastery to be cleaned up to become the base of operations to take back Fódlan from the emperor.   
Byleth had time before she was supposed to meet with Seteth, so she finished cleaning her room to pass time. By the time she finished, her room was immaculate. She wiped her brow, then headed to Seteth’s office.

“Ah, Professor, please come in. I hope you don’t mind, I brewed us some tea.” He gestured to a seat in front of his desk. “Please, make yourself at home.” Byleth settled into the chair as Seteth poured some tea into her cup.   
“So, I’m sure you’re aware that with Rhea gone, the church of Seiros is without a leader.”  
Byleth nodded.  
“Well, we will need a stand in until Rhea is back and well enough to resume her duties. She feared that something like this could happen, so she told me that she wanted you to stand in for her.”  
Byleth’s face dropped.   
“Me?”  
“Yes, you.”  
“But you would be a better choice. You’re more experienced and have been here longer. I didn’t know of the church until a year ago... well I suppose it’s more than a year now, isn’t it?” She frowned. “Sorry, I’m still getting used to the fact I was sleeping for five years.”   
“You were blessed by the Goddess herself. No one could do a better job than you.” He smiled slightly. “You do not have to worry, I will be with you every step of the way. I’m the Archbishops right hand, after all.” He chuckled lightly. “And now you are the Archbishop. For now, that is.”  
She let out a shaky breath.   
“I guess I have no choice.”  
“You never do.” Seteth joked.  
“You’re right about that.” She chuckled as she sipped her tea. 

Byleth strolled around the monastery after a briefing with Seteth about what her duties as acting archbishop would be, and her first was to oversee the fast approaching Saint Seiros day. She was to conduct a hymn in the cathedral, which was nothing new for her, so she felt confident that she could pull it off. The rest of the time would be dedicated to training the armies and her students. 

“Congratulations Professor! Or should I call you Archbishop Byleth now?” Sylvain winked at her.  
“Sylvain! Do not act improperly in front of the acting archbishop! It’s improper!” Mercedes scolded.  
“Mercedes it’s fine, I’m no different than your boring old professor. Only my title has temporarily changed.”  
“Oh professor, you’ve never been boring!” Sylvain started.  
“Although, you can stop flirting with me, Sylvain.”  
“You wound me professor.” He mocked being shot through the heart with an arrow, then quickly changed his demeanour.   
“So what are we going to do? What’s our next move?” He asked.  
“We’re not sure yet, our troops are enough to defend the monastery, but they are too small in numbers to start moving them around. There’s been rumours of imperial scouts in the area, so it’d be wise to keep everyone we can here in case of an attack.”  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
“I hope we have some time, we all need some training and rest.” Annette sighed.  
“Speaking of training, I’m once again in charge of training you all.”  
Felix grinned.  
“Does this mean I can spar with you?” 

Byleth’s breath was heavy. The past five years had obviously taken a toll on her stamina. Both her and Felix were covered in sweat, but she had managed to beat him once more. He was easier to fight then Dimitri, because she could find his patterns and he was in control of his movements, unlike Dimitri’s wild beast like fighting. The crowd that had surrounded them cheered at Byleth’s victory. She grinned down at the blue haired swordsman beneath her and he smiled back.   
“I see you’re still as good as you were before. Nice to see sleeping for five years didn’t take too much of a toll on you.”   
The mercenary climbed off him, and offered her hand to him. He accepted, pulling himself up as the crowd began to dissipate.   
“Can we not speak about that? It’s still strange, I can barely believe it, but here you all are, five years older and wiser...”  
“Only some of us are wiser. The boar certainly is not.”  
“Well I can’t disagree. He is reckless. I’m sure I can bring him back though. At least, I hope I can.”  
“You’re the only person he seems to actually listen to, although I’m sure he doesn’t mean to. If anyone can do anything about him, you’re the one.”  
Byleth sighed slightly.  
“I’m going to go bathe. Goodbye, Professor.” He said before putting his training sword back on the rack and heading out the door, leaving Byleth alone with her thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Dimitri tried to hide his blush by taking a long drink from the teacup his professor had given him. As usual, Byleth had started to tease him relentlessly while they drank tea in the garden together. They had made it a weekly occurrence. It gave Dimitri and opportunity to air his grievances with the other members of his house, and gave Byleth a way to understand her students more. Dimitri hated time admit it, but it was the part of the week he looked forward to most. He knew it was wildly inappropriate to feel anything for her, as she was his professor and he was her student, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter when they were together. She kept the voices at bay. When they were together, he was at peace.

When she left, he spiralled into madness. There was no more tea times in the gardens, no more late night talks in the library. He had grown to love her, and with her disappearance, his heart left with her. Watching her fall off that cliff was hell for Dimitri, he ran to try and catch her, only to be pulled back by a knight and dragged away. He screamed for someone to help her, but it was too late. No one could help her. He blamed everyone. If she had stayed by his side like she had promised, she wouldn’t have fallen. But most of all, he blamed himself. He should’ve saved her. He should’ve known she would be so reckless and put her life on the line for others. 

“Dimitri...” Byleth calmed out.  
“Why are you here?” He snarled.  
“Everyone is worried about you... most of all me.”  
“Why would you care?” He spat at her.   
“Why wouldn’t I?”  
“You didn’t care when you ran off to help Rhea and didn’t tell me.” He retorted.  
Byleth was silent for a moment, processing his words.  
“Dima...” she began.  
“Do not call me that!” He roared as he spun around to face her, his cloak flurrying around his large frame. Byleth could see fire burning in his blue eyes.  
“You made your decision. You chose to die instead of staying by my side like you promised you would. You should’ve stayed dead and made things easier for me.” He spat.

Byleth knew that he didn’t mean the spiteful words that fell from his lips, but that didn’t make them hurt any less. She felt tears pricking at her eyes.   
“You don’t mean that.” She said definitely, begging her voice not to betray her. He simply grunted in reply, turning his back to her once more. They stood in a chilling silence for a few moments as Byleth composed herself.   
“I’m sorry for leaving your side. I just saw Rhea was in trouble... and something inside of me told me I had to save her. I couldn’t just let her die. I didn’t want to leave you but I had no choice. I knew you could take care of yourself.”   
Dimitri remained unmoving. She reached out to touch him but recoiled before they made contact.  
“Please come and eat something...” she said weakly before retreating from the cathedral.

Byleth spent hours waiting in the dining hall. It was well after the sun set when she knew he wouldn’t come. With a resigned sigh, she began to cook. It was never a strong point for the former mercenary, once when she was making sweets with Annette and Mercedes, she almost burnt the entire kitchen down. As it was well past meal times, her selection of ingredients was limited, but she managed to make a generous meal for him. To her surprise, she didn’t completely burn the food and it was still edible. She quickly threw together a pot of tea and carried it all to the cathedral.

Even in the dark, he stood in the same place, unmoving. Byleth quietly set down his mean and stole away to a pew that was covered in darkness. She felt like she was feeding a dangerous wild animal. It took a few moments for the man to notice the new scent of the food. As soon as he turned around to inspect the cause of the smell, his eyes fell to the plate on a nearby bench. He looked around as if to see if he was truly alone and once he was satisfied he began to eat. He didn’t resemble to princely Dimitri that Byleth had once enjoyed meals with. He shovelled the food into his mouth carelessly, finishing in a matter of minutes. In a similar manner, he chugged the still hot tea. Byleth shuddered as she thought that it would be painful. Then he moved back to his spot like nothing had happened, becoming a statue once more. The professor watched him intently through the night, although he never even moved a muscle. It didn’t take long for Byleth to fall into a deep slumber.

Her dreams were anything but peaceful. She dreamt she and Dimitri were fighting like they had at the Goddess Tower. Although, this time, he had the upper hand this time. He was on top of her, crushing her under the weight of his body. All she could do was look at his eyes as he closed his large hands around her fragile throat. She desperately tried to search for a trace of her old Dimitri in his eyes. Once they had been bright blue, sparkling with hope and life, but now they were dull and filled with dark madness. She tried to speak, to beg him to get off, but he continued to tighten his grip. She attempted to trash around, her lungs and brain burning, screaming for oxygen. Her vision began to ebb to blackness. She could feel her tears streaming down her face. Just before she was sure she’d die, she jolted awake heaving for breath. 

She felt the wetness on her cheeks, caused by the streams of tears falling from her eyes. She looked around to calm herself down, gathering her thoughts while convincing herself it was a dream. She was in her room. She frowned slightly, not remembering leaving the cathedral. Had someone carried her back? 

Byleth climbed out of her bed, noticing her window was open. She frowned again. She barely ever opened her window. She noticed that her belongings that had been under the window had been knocked over. Had a wild animal come in? She thought, looking out the window. It was sunrise. The colours of an early morning never ceased to amaze her. The magnificent pinks, reds and oranges bled together perfectly. It looked like the perfect watercolour painting, and it took her breath away. She leant against the windowsill and took the time to watch the beautiful sunrise.


End file.
